How to Crochet: Chain (ch)

This tutorial is for both right and left handed people. For left handed pictures, roll your mouse over the image and it will change for you.

Chain stitches are the foundation of everything that is crocheted. Learning how to crochet a chain stitch is really easy and is one of the first things that anyone learning to crochet should do. Simply follow the instructions below to learn how to crochet chain stitches.

Congrats! You just made one chain! Continue to yarn over (yo) and pull the strand of yarn through the loop to create more chains, repeating steps 2 and 3. Here is what a series of chains look like.

If you decide to follow a crochet pattern, it will tell you how many chains to make. Note that you should always have at least one loop on your hook the whole time. From time to time you may have to count the number of chains you made. When you are counting the number of chains you made, do not count the chain on your hook.

Was this helpful? Do you still need more help? Leave a comment to let me know!

[…] Below is a step by step tutorial that will slowly walk you through crocheting a few rows of Tunisian simple stitches. If you need help with any of the steps, don’t be afraid to ask by leaving a comment on this post! Step 1: Chain 10 (How to Crochet a Chain) […]

[…] to teach me to crochet after I saw one of my friends doing it. She taught me the basics, like the foundation chain, single crochet and double crochet (thanks mom!). According to her, I was really bad at making my […]

Hi Rachel, I have a doubt about the turning chain.. I figured it was ch 1 for sc rows, ch 2 for hdc, ch 3 for dc and ch 4 for trebles… but i have come acorss patern that say ch 2 for dc rows… have I been doing this wrong?

Hi Lu, after you making your first chain, move the loop on your hook back to the part of the hook that is leveled. This will make the loop larger so that it can fit over hook. The edge where the hook is, is normally skinnier than the rest of the hook. Also, try not to pull the strand of yarn that is in your hand when you are making your second chain, because that is what tightens the loop that is on your hook.

Chaining is simple, but no matter what I do, it always seems that once I get to the next row, it seems like my chain is too tight, causing it to roll in a corner the further up I go. I can never seem to get it comfortably loose. Does that make sense?

Hi Melissa, try making your change with a slightly larger look than the rest of your work. Sometimes it is normal for your work to curl a bit, try going on to the next row or 2 to see if it works itself out.

[…] as you read the instructions. No more feeling like a fish out of water for you. You can practice chaining, single crochet stitch, half double crochet stitch, double crochet, and triple crochet stitch to […]

Thank you! I’m a student so learning w thin garden twine 🙂
My question is, every time i di a foundation chain I end up w a super twisted thing & can’t tell what loops to “use” when doung the next row. How can i prevent this?
I suspect it’s something to do w how my yarn hand holds the chain? Can you help?
Thanks again!

It might be the way you hold your work, but there’s no way for sure of knowing without actually seeing you. My advice would be to take your time and crochet nice and slow. Maybe that will make it turn out neater? Also, try to make some shorter chains and see if that also twists. If it doesn’t you may be able to compare the difference in what you are doing to see what the problem might be. Practice makes perfect, so keep up the crocheting!